Do you want to know how much I love you guys? It's my birthday and I have a cold and I still got up early to get this recap done. Well, I got up early because it's hard to sleep while coughing, but still.

Well folks, we're finally there, the most important episode of the season--the last one. And it only took 46 short weeks to get here. Ok, it just felt like it took that much time, what with being annoyed by the Annoying Twins for more than half of them, then several weeks in a row when the Top Five finalists remained the Top Five because they were so good that the judges didn't have the heart to auf any of them until they absolutely had to. Now finally, in mid-November, we get to see the NY Fashion Week shows the designers presented in early September (although if you read this blog, you were able to see photos from the shows weeks ago).

The episode starts off with the designers entering the workroom to get the last bits of hemming and doo-dad-attachment done. Kentaro is chanting "cohesive" over and over again. He feels like he's already lost the competition, so he is free to do what he likes with his collection. However, he will try to work on cohesiveness a little. At the very least, he's getting rid of the white dress with the hairy tumor and replacing it with something less weird.

Margarita is resentful of the judges comments that her looks are too "Miami" and says that one can't the tropical out of the girl. She's also worried about her parents who are still in Puerto Rico which at the time was being clipped by Hurricane Irma. 

Meanwhile, Brandon is so confident in his collection and has so few things to do, he's stretched out on the couch in the lounge, snoring.

Tim comes in to give everyone (except for Brandon who obviously doesn't need one) a pep talk and advises them all to stay the course, 1000 points of light, etc. He tells Margarita not to undermine her integrity by dumbing down the tropical aspect of her collection. After Tim leaves, Margarita calls her parents to find they've lost power, but are doing their best to make it to NY to see her show. Their flight hasn't yet been cancelled, so they're hoping for the best. Margarita's mom is heard saying that they'll swim to NY if they have to. Personally, I'd have already left for NY and enjoyed a little vacay with my family for a few days, but then I love NY. Maybe Margarita's family doesn't? In any case, fingers are crossed that they'll make it to see their girl at Fashion Week.

The next day, Tim comes in and remarks that he hasn't had a "gather round" all season so it was time for one. He says he's proud of each of them, as well he should be. They are all talented designers, and this is going to be one of the best finale runway shows evarrrr (says the girl who's seen it weeks ago). The designers finish up last minute details before zipping their collections into black body bags and leaving the workroom for the final time.

The designers are up and at 'em at 3:30 am, clothed and made up, and ready to hit the runway. I'm not sure why they need to be up so early, as their show is usually the first of the day, scheduled at 8am in whatever venue is being used that year. (I miss Bryant Park.) We see backstage scenes of the typical controlled chaos of hair and makeup and last minute alterations. Tim tells Margarita that her parents flight was cancelled and they are currently doing the backstroke somewhere east of Delaware. He will keep her posted as to their progress. Drama! Ayana has a ruffle fall off one of her dresses. How that happens is a mystery, but maybe it had only been stapled on? More drama, however mild.

We see the venue is full of curious folks, from fashionistas to fashion bloggers, from former Project Runway contestants to minor celebrities. For some reason, the camera keeps landing on Carly Chaikin, the I, Robot actress who had judged earlier in the season. From what I can tell, she has all the emotional range of Kristen Stewart, but I'm only going by what I see on PR.

The judges enter the arena. Heidi is wearing something so short and sparkly even Barbie would be embarrassed. It looks to be made of many hundreds of purple foil Easter egg wrappers, but not enough wrappers to cover her boobs and legs. Sadly, gravity is affecting even Heidi Klum. The guest judge is Jessica Alba, who has not aged at all. I know she's only 36, but damn she looks so young.

Let the show begin! I love the way they splice in the designers so seamlessly to make them appear to talk to the audience and walk the runway after their models. Because Fashion Week happens so early in the show's airing, it's necessary for the PR show to be completely anonymous. The audience and the designers cannot appear on the runway at the same time. The magic of television, folks!

Margarita is first, introducing her collection as "A Fish Out of Water." I think it's dynamite. Jazzmine gives the audience a "wow look" by whipping off her skirt halfway through the walk. Her plus-sized beauty gets an ovation from many people in the crowd.

The Judges Say: so much energy/passion/color; it's joyous and spectacular. Zac is proud of her. It's fun/sexy/so Latina. Heidi says she's not Latina but may as well be as she loves everything. (Quite a change from last week's critique.) The beaded fish dresses were a lot of work that paid off. The only negative comment came from Nina, who thought the feathers were a bit much.

Brandon tells us his collection is called "Layers of Love." Oh jeez. I am going to gag. But I have to remember that he's only 24 and probably still collects Beanie Babies. His collection is predictably full of oversized button loops and tons of straps and loose strings. The shapes of the pieces are actually interesting in several cases, but the flamingo print is so omnipresent and really rather drab. My favorite thing about the whole collection is the penis on look 8, which I guess is a reminder that he's really a menswear designer.

The Judges Say: Flirty/romantic/cool. Zac thought it was a strong collection but it needed more variation. Brandon says that he was referring to collections that had piece after piece of similar looks, but the judges tell him that those were bigger collections, so while there were several looks in a row that were the same, there were also other looks that were different. In a 10-piece collection, one has to make sure that there's both cohesion and difference. Nevertheless, Brandon is called "an incredibly gifted designer" who gave his peers a run for their money. Liris, who did not look happy while walking down the runway, cries as she tells the judges that this "model diversity moment" means so much for "her community."  (As a fat person myself, I've never felt part of a community. But then I don't like people.)

Kentaro hasn't named his collection, but tells us it's inspired by a dead cat that he buried and who later sang to him his native Japan. It's quirky and striking and goes back to the stuff he was designing before Project Runway. The piece he composed is playing in the background, and the audience is so quiet, it's hard to tell if they're holding their breath or have all just gone to sleep.

The Judges Say: You know people love a collection when they're either noisy or quiet. Heidi says it was so quiet in the room that one could "hear a mouse fart." The collection blew Zac's socks off with the level of experimentation, textures, and color, though he wasn't into the two red dresses in a row. One would have been enough.

Finally, Ayana's "Evolution" documents her personal journey. I'm not sure how that works, but the collection goes from more athletic looks to pants to dresses and finally a gown. She's also put head scarves on several of the models, but ones that are somewhat more elaborate than those she herself normally wears. I really love this collection in photos, but less so when I see it walking down the runway. The first three looks especially don't walk well.

The Judges Say: They love her gown, think it is stunning. The looks are hip and seductive. Nina wanted to see more color. The tailoring is beautiful. Nina liked the skirt/pant combo (which is something Ayana herself wore during the show), and Heidi wasn't into the first three looks. They all love the distinctive headwear.

The judges do a little more nitpicking before choosing a winner. It seems that Nina is in favor of Brandon winning, because she keeps reminding the others that he has a real point of view, but I think overall his collection was disappointing in its sameness.

They call the designers back out on the runway. Margarita is auf'd first. When she goes back to the green room, she finds that her parents have finally made it to NY, though they had not been shown in the audience. Brandon is sent home next; he goes backstage and cries like a baby. Again, he's only 24. I think all of the various wins during the competition went to his head so he felt that he could not lose. And with that kind of thinking, it's possible to get lazy.

It was down to Ayana and Kentaro. I was pretty sure Ayana had the win in the bag, but surprise! Kentaro is declared the winner. Thank heavens. The whole season looked like one big fix for Brandon, but it seemed that the judges actually chose the winner on the merits of the final collection. Kentaro showed range, he showed growth, he showed himself. And he definitely deserved the win.

Now how does JC Penney translate his fabulous garments into a capsule collection to be sold on the cheap? 

This one's not so bad, I suppose, though it looks cheap and stiff. The tank has more modest straps and why is it black? The look definitely needs the belt.

This one is nothing like the original. The shirt looks sloppy, and what's going on with the crotch on those pants? WWMKS (What Would Michael Kors Say?) about the model's "polterwang?"

In any case, congratulations Kentaro!


Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!

I found this image of Project Runway season 16 model Monique Robinson on the Jessica London website. Hopefully she'll move on to higher-quality projects after PR.

Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com
Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!

Now lovers of pumpkin spice can show off their affection for the autumnal favorite with cute t-shirts, dresses, and other items like mugs, tote bags, and duvet covers. These items are 100% designed by me, and available through a company called RedBubble.

Find "Basic" items here.

Find "Pumpkin Time" items here.

Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!

I've been terribly remiss in not posting the images from the Project Runway show at New York Fashion Week. The show took place on September 9th, and included six designers. That means three decoys, although I don't know why they would even bother with decoys when at that point there were 12 designers left and there was no way they could show the faces of the participants. In any case, I think it's pretty obvious whose collections are whose. My guesses are, in order - Michael, Kenya, Ayana, Brandon, Kentaro, and Margarita. I think this is one of the best runway shows we've seen in years--definitely better than last year.

My favorites are 3, 5, and 6 (my guesses are Ayana, Kentaro, Margarita). Which do you like, if any? Which do you think belong to the final three? And who wins?

I am guessing that Ayana, Brandon, and Margarita are the final three. As far as I can tell, each of their collections use two models from the competition; the others three designers don't appear to have used any of them. It might be coincidence, but maybe not.

Click on each collection to see a larger image.



Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!

I'm happy to report that episode 3 was much more entertaining than episode 2. While the Annoying Twins were (indeed) still annoying, there was less focus on them this week. There was plenty of other drama though. The good kind, involving fashion, and not over-the-top personalities or lying or back-stabbing or any of the other childish stuff that adults do when they are thrown in a room full of other people and submerged in a high-pressure situation like a reality competition. Or the White House.

Anyhoo...

Heidi is attempting to teach Tim how to dance. She tells him to "shake his booty," but he's not altogether sure what part of the body constitutes his booty.

They jump behind the runway scrim and their shadows tell a story that makes the assembled designers laugh. When they emerge, Heidi and Tim present the next challenge, which is to create a fashionable look informed by dance, movement, and innovation. For inspiration, they watch the new animated movie, Leap! conveniently open in theaters right now and possibly one of the reasons the season started so late this year. The movie was released last Friday, the 25th, and it was important for the PR episode to run at about the same time. (If the season doesn't seem to have started late to you, take into consideration that Fashion Week starts next week and the PR show is slated for the morning of September 8th, a week from today. And there are still how many designers left? Yes, it looks like the finale will once again be an anonymous show that will have the designers introductions added digitally after the fact. But I digress. As usual.)

After the movie, members of Hiplet, a troupe of dancers that do hip hop dance en pointe, do a demo. While I know there are people who are excited about this mashup, personally I think it needs some work. Hip Hop dance is amazing. Ballet is amazing. The two together appear to me to be ballet with lots of arm waving. And "Hiplet" (pronounced "hip lay") is quite the awkward bi-lingual portmanteau. But I'm sure it will be super popular and they'll make a movie and a Broadway show about it and the Bolshoi will incorporate it into their repertoire and people will say I was wrong and mean to criticize. But everything needs criticism--how else do we know when things need to be improved or changed?

The designers get 30 minutes to sketch right there in their seats by the runway before spending $200 each at Mood. Margarita tells us she's inspired by the traditional Puerto Rican dance style called Bomba and the ruffled costumes women wear while doing this dance. Kintaro is inspired by classical ballet, sans hip-hop, as he played classical piano since the age of 3. He plans to do something Swan Lake-ish. Kudzanai wants all of the colors that Mood has to offer for his African-inspired design, which by the looks of the piles of stuff he's purchasing is based on ancestral clown vomit.

Back in the workroom, the first line of business for the Annoying Twins is to drop an entire box of straight pins on the floor and scurry noisily like angry squirrels to pick them up. On a calmer, gentler note, we see that Mexican Michael and Puerto Rican Margarita have bonded because of their shared language. Plus they both seem to be kind and gentle people. This is one of my favorite things about creative reality competition shows (the only kind I watch), the moments when, instead of table flipping and under-bus people-throwing, contestants find common ground and bond. 💜

Deyonté has purchased several fabrics in a fabulous shade of chartreuse, which happens to be my favorite color. I am picturing an end result that is beautiful and flowy, with a long skirt that has lots of movement. But before we get to see his vision completed, Deyonté drives the sewing machine needle down sideways through his finger tip. It's bad enough that the medic has to come and bandage him up, but there's also blood on the sewing machine. Which Deyonté wipes off with a tissue? Hey, producers, it's blood! Shouldn't there be some hazmat team around to do clean up when this sort of thing occurs? The designers use the same sewing machines regularly, but think of the models who might have to wear bloodstained clothes. Not saying that anyone has anything communicable, but why take the risk?

Meanwhile, the Annoying Twins are running around like the proverbial headless chickens. Baldie is dying her fabric in a separate room, but before she gets that far, she knocks over a table. The floor is slick, so both twins take turns falling down as they run around. Is running part of their process? Or are they disorganized? or just not linear thinkers? Not only are they racing about like toddlers after too many cookies, they're calling to each other every few minutes, "hey, pumpkin, can you come look at this?" for help/critiques/moral support/just for shits and grins. Note to the producers: Next time you have twins as contestants, make sure they're Siamese. There will be half as much running around, and no need to shout for your twin's attention as she is literally right there.

Quite the opposite of the Annoying Twins is Brandon, who seems very zen. The designers have started teasing him about it, how he gets in the zone and can ignore everything around him--including direct questions--while he's cutting and sewing. It's really a great ability to have, especially when you're stuck in a room with Baldie and Hairy.

Tim comes in for his critique, which doesn't seem to have as much of the usual hand-to-chin contemplation (though there is some of it). He's in love with almost everything. Kenya's patterned suit is "smashing," Michael's dress and cover-up are "fabulous," Samantha's black dress with many textures is "quite magnificent," Amy's convertible jumpsuit/sweater is "remarkable." He even doesn't hate what the Annoying Twins are doing, but he tells Hairy to stay away from Red Bull and Coffee and Baldie that perhaps she's a tad too literal in her interpretation of the dance portion of the challenge. Tim seems to like pink-haired John Lennon's jumpsuit idea, but doesn't want it to be a "puu-puu" platter of different treatments. When he gets to Margarita and listens to her explanations of ruffled sleeves and ruffled skirt, he tells her he's afraid it's "full-on costume," which it absolutely is. Ayana has a "lot going on," and Kudzanai's design with its fringe and feathers and gee-gaws, is "a lot of look," but overall, Tim "couldn't be happier" with the work so far.

The designers who received criticism rework their looks a bit. Margarita decides to turn the bodice of her bodysuit around, so the revealing open back becomes a midriff-baring front. She keeps the ruffled sleeves but tones down the skirt. Ayana got dinged for her fabric choice, so she uses the reverse side, which is more subtle. But Kudzanai is going full steam ahead with his cacophony of colors, textures, and trim. When the models come in for a fitting, the part of it that he has assembled looks like a bad arts-and-crafts project. Nobody is getting a "loser edit" this week, but I start feeling that something is up with Kudzanai. Either the judges will hate his look, or fall in love with it, as they sometimes do with absolute bullshit.

Margarita is also having issues with blood, only not her own. Her outfit is still pinned together during the fitting. While undressing, one stabs the model, who bleeds. Did I mention Margarita's outfit was all white? Cotton, no less. I have to wonder if she's going to resort to splashing red paint on her look to make the blood match, or if she will be able to hide it. Speaking of blood, Deyonté is in pain, but needs to finish his dress. It looks terrible on the model; it's too short, which makes her legs look very very long, which only emphasizes that it's too short. Pink-haired John Lennon's model has a longer torso than he allowed for, so he has to recut parts of his jumpsuit. Brandon's model is happy that she's working with him because, "all the girls are kinda like in love with him." It's the zen.

The next day, everyone gets time to finish (mostly) as models are sent down to the Ding Dong! Avon Calling Studio for makeup and The Ratings Are So Low Nobody Wants To Sponsor Our Hair Salon to get their hair did. And let's not forget accessorizing with baubles from WalMart Claire's Boutique JC Penney!

The guest judge for this week is 14-year-old Maddie Ziegler, formerly of Lifetime's Dance Moms, dancer in Sia videos, author, model, fashion designer, and star of the movie Leap! I only know her from the videos for Chandelier and Elastic Heart, which were impressive, considering she was 11 or 12 when she made them. She is such a good dancer, one can almost ignore that Shia LaBeouf was in the latter video. The runway show is pretty good, some garments are really pretty fab, but there can only be three top and three bottom looks and they are:

Top: Batani, Margarita, and Brandon

Zac wasn't into the metallic material in Batani's butterfly-esque caped outfit, but he liked the look overall. The judges felt it flowed nicely and really fit the dance theme. Everyone felt Margarita's was dramatic, crisp, and fashionable. They loved the spirit and the little pop of color (not from the blood stain, but from a bit of red on the bodice and on the underside of the skirt. They thought turning the bodice back to front was very smart fabrication, and they even liked the puffy sleeves. But Brandon's layered shirt dress blew them all away. It was well made and creative. Other adjectives used were chic, cool, modern, and lyrical.

Bottom:  Deyonté, Kentaro, amd Kudzanai

Poor Deyonté's injury didn't get him any sympathy for his poorly-made and ill-fitting dress. The skirt was too short, the waist came up too high and looked uncomfortable. The proportion of the hi-low hemline was way out of wack. Additionally, the entire bodice was pinned closed because he didn't have time to sew it shut. Not to mention that it did nothing good for her boobs. Kentaro got dinged for not having a good "runway impact." His interpretation of the dance aspect of the challenge was a bit too literal, and it seemed as if he didn't make enough of an effort. Especially when it turned out that the back of the skirt was open, like an apron. Kudzani, on the other hand, made too much of an effort. Zac thought he was overly inspired by the children's movie, what with all the colors and fringes and feathers. It was like a pinata exploded. The construction was ambitious, but a mess. Maximalism to the max. I think the dress itself, without all the shit on it, could have been interesting for an athleisure challenge, as it reminded me of an oversized sweatshirt with extra details. Alas, this was not that kind of challenge.

It was no surprise when Brandon was declared the winner, as they positively salivated over his dress. Also not a surprise was Kudzanai's aufing. What did kinda surprise me was that Tim didn't say his usual, "we're going to miss you/I'm going to have to tell you to pack up your workstation" lines. It was basically, "bye!" Strange, because Kudzanai seemed to be a nice, quiet, hard-working guy and Tim even seems to like the schmucks. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, huh?

Next week: the designers get to sleep with some guy named Al Fresco at the top of the Empire State Building!

Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!

I always have to be doing something creative, be it making jewelry or knitting or graphic design. I've recently taken up textile design. Fun repeating patterns of flowers or food items so far, but I'm always dreaming up new ones.

The one exception so far is this rather trippy yellow and green pattern that is made from the fire of an opal. Honestly.
Can you see it? I took the opal and mirrored it a couple of ways to make the pattern. I love it.

I'm using RedBubble.com to get my designs on garments and such. The Magic of Silica is available on scarves, dresses, tote bags, pillows, and more. Check them out here.

Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com Because of past content theft, I am forced to add this statement to the end of my posts: If you're reading this post anywhere other than the Opalescent blog, OpalescentMinx.com (also http://minxbeads.blogspot.com) then this content has been stolen. Please do not support this thief!